View Vacancy - CGZ - South China Senior Outreach Officer, C4 (L)

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer.  We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)
Outreach

Main purpose of the job: 

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of the British Consulate General’s South China Outreach team, responsible for developing and leading the UK’s engagement across South China and often in regions where other diplomats rarely go. As lead for Hunan, the job holder will report directly to the Head of South China Outreach (Consul) and be forward-based in Changsha, although will regularly return to the Consulate-General in Guangzhou (one week per month). Depending on business needs, the job holder may also be required to provide Outreach support in other regions of the South China Consular District. At least initially, they will also be expected to spend a proportion of their time (est. ~20%) covering Guangxi province.

The job holder’s main responsibility will be to represent the UK in and lead our relationship with Hunan, an economically vibrant province with a long history of engagement with the UK through trade and investment, people-to-people relations, and cooperation on shared global challenges. They will initiate and drive a range of activities and projects to build deeper and more active relationships in Hunan, including on prosperity and economic growth, trade and investment, and public diplomacy, establishing the UK as a partner of choice on shared priorities. They will be responsible for guiding partnerships with UK cities and regions to further deepen UK-China regional collaboration. As a Senior Outreach Officer, they will also be expected to strategically lead other teams’ engagement with Hunan and its major cities (e.g. Changsha, Zhuzhou, Changde), acting as a source of expertise and primary point of contact to form, coordinate and deliver the Consulate and Prosperity Cone’s business plans in Hunan.

This job is about using initiative to proactively and independently facilitate and lead UK engagement with partners new to or unfamiliar with cooperating with the UK. The successful candidate will quickly build up a strong knowledge base to increase our understanding of Hunan and proactively lead targeted UK engagement, assisting other teams with reporting and analysis. They will be able to build and maintain a broad-based and effective local government network and business contacts in the regions the UK works with (particularly local Foreign Affairs Offices and Bureaux of Commerce), key UK stakeholders, such as the Department for International Trade, British Council, UK Visa and Immigration, and the China Britain Business Council, as well as teams across the Consulate-General. They will have tried and tested leadership skills to bring diverse UK and Chinese stakeholders together in coordinated, strategic work in Hunan, and use their influencing abilities to encourage local partners to engage with them. As part of this they will be the main lead for inward/outward visits from UK ministers and officials to Hunan, and provincial leaders’ visits to the UK.

The successful candidate must be a proactive ‘self-starter’, identifying strategic opportunities for UK engagement, leading on developing workstreams which deliver tangible results for the UK Government, and bringing other teams along with their strategic priorities. They will be required to work independently and frequently travel within Hunan and South China, although will be closely integrated with and supported by the wider Consulate-General team. They will need to have strong interpersonal and team-working skills to ensure their work integrates seamlessly with the Consulate and China Prosperity Cone’s wider business plans and activities. Most of all, they will need a passion for busy and challenging work which delivers tangible results to advance the UK’s prosperity agenda. Fluency and confidence in verbal and written Mandarin is essential. 

Background

The China Regional Network (Outreach) is a network of UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff across China who represent the whole of the UK Government in provinces and cities outside of areas where we have a formal diplomatic presence. We sit in the wider cross-China prosperity cone, working with China to deliver mutual prosperity and address global challenges such as climate change and sustainable growth. The South China team covers Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, Hainan and Guangdong.

Our goals are to: build and maintain local and regional partnerships in South China (Partnerships); support inclusive UK and Chinese economic growth, including trade and investment links, economic cooperation and global goods (Prosperity); and improve perceptions of the UK in South China (Public Diplomacy).

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?

The job holder will be lead for the UK’s engagement Hunan province, driving FCO Outreach priorities while coordinating and leading other sections. It is expected their work will be divided as:

PARTNERSHIPS: Deeper and more sustainable local and regional partnerships (20%)

  • Increase the number and quality of regional and local partnerships between the UK and Hunan, for example with local authorities, schools, universities, hospitals, football clubs, museums, research institutions etc. Coordinate and lead engagement with local governments, working closely with other FCO and DIT teams to facilitate visits and cooperation.

PROSPERITY: Support UK-China economic growth (30%)

  • Support the China Network Prosperity Cone to deliver projects to deliver improved prosperity for China and the UK, including on global challenges (e.g. climate change, sustainable growth, environment and oceans)
  • Identify and work with colleagues on removal of barriers to trade and investment;
  • Work with UK Department for International Trade and other British Consulate colleagues to identify and develop commercial opportunities for UK organisations, specifically in UK exports to China, foreign direct investment (China-UK), and overseas direct investment (UK-China);
  • Attend and represent the UK at major expos and commercial events where required.

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY: Improve perceptions of the UK (30%)

  • Improve UK government access to, and frequency of meetings with, senior leaders and influencers in Hunan
  • Work with Consulate-General colleagues to promote the UK as a great place to visit, study, and do business, including promoting Chevening scholarships, UK tourism and visas, UK education etc.
  • Support delivery of the Communications team’s public diplomacy activities.

VISITS, EVENTS, CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS (20%)

  • Support delivery of successful UK government visits to Hunan to pursue strategic Outreach and China Business Plan
  • Conceive, develop, and deliver events, campaigns, and projects to support partnerships, prosperity, and public diplomacy objectives;
  • Increase visits to UK by senior regional delegations.
  • Fluent in spoken and written English and Mandarin
  • Experience working independently and showing initiative to proactively develop and deliver workstreams
  • Experience successfully leading on events and/or visits for senior stakeholders
  • Proven ability in developing and managing stakeholder networks and/or Account Management
  • Understanding of the local political and economic environment of Hunan
  • Existing government and non-governmental networks in Hunan
  • Experience working in an international (non-Chinese) organisation
  • Previous experience of the UK (for example though studying, living or working in the UK)
19 December 2019
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)
Full-time, Fixed term, with possibility of renewal
35
Asia Pacific
China
Guangzhou
British Consulate General
1
CNY
RMB 27,596 for Chinese national or RMB 35,959 for expat staff
3 February 2020

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office takes learning and development seriously and you can expect to be supported in your own development through both formal and informal training. This busy and varied role will offer the successful candidate a wide range of opportunities for on-the-job learning, including through working across China network priorities and supporting senior visitors. The job-holder would have access to the following opportunities:

  • A comprehensive range of electronic and face-to-face learning opportunities made available via the FCO’s ‘Diplomatic Academy’ (DA).
  • Mandatory courses for new entrants, eg. health and safety etc.
  • Other formal and informal opportunities for professional development: classroom teaching, coaching, mentoring etc. Where time and budget has allowed, previous job holders have benefited from work shadowing elsewhere in the China Network. 

We are an equal opportunities employer, dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce, and valuing difference.

We offer a competitive package, which includes basic salary, good leave entitlement, and insurance plan etc. The monthly salary is RMB 27,596 for Chinese national or RMB 35,959 / month for expat staff. We also offer excellent development opportunities and a 22-day annual leave entitlement in pro rata. Conditioned working hours are 35 hours/ week from Monday to Friday and flexible working can be arranged upon personal needs. 

The job-holder is expected to travel frequently in Hunan (at least 1-2 times a month) and return to Guangzhou for around one week each month. There will be opportunities for travel elsewhere in the China Network (e.g. Beijing), and depending on business needs potentially to the UK to support inbound delegations.

Management of some parts of the job (eg. VIP visits) can require working irregular hours that involve some early starts and late finishes; occasional weekend working is also required. But we do compensate employees by offering time off in lieu (TOIL). 

We support requests for flexible working, but these do need to take into account the essential demands of the job, which requires some evening and weekend working (e.g. overnight stays for provincial visits). Flexible working requests also need to take into consideration the working circumstances of (and impacts upon) other colleagues.

Staff recruited locally by the British Consulate-General Guangzhou are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Chinese employment law.

All applications must be received before 23:55 China Standard Time on the specified application deadline.

Incomplete application forms will not be taken into consideration, so please ensure you provide the information requested. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted regarding the next phase of the selection process. To those applicants not short-listed, we extend our appreciation for considering the British Government as a potential employer.

Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

This opportunity is closed to applications.